Stalin Hometown Statue Restoration Gets Georgia Ministry Backing

July 30 (Bloomberg) -- The Georgian Ministry of Culture and
Monument Protection approved a proposal to restore a statue of
Josef Stalin in his home town.

A bronze statue of the former Soviet dictator, which was
dismantled in 2010 in Gori, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) west
of the capital, Tbilisi, should be placed in a new location
instead of the city center, Keti Ebanoidze, a spokeswoman for
the ministry, said by phone in Tbilisi today.

Several Georgian villages already began restoring removed
Stalin statues after the unexpected defeat of President Mikheil
Saakashvili’s party by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili’s
coalition in October parliamentary elections. Two statues were
toppled and spray-painted this year. Georgia’s parliament voted
to ban Soviet symbols in 2011, 20 years after the country
declared independence.

Saakashvili, speaking on the television channel Rustavi 2,
said the restoration of the statue is a “barbaric, anti-state
act,” urging the government to reassess the decision.